Guys, so i've got a lovely 2000 M Coupe, Estoril Blue on Two-Tone interior, 86k miles, sunroof delete. I go back and forth on turning my weekend fun car into a dedicated track car. I've done ~15 DE's now, and am at the point where I really want to squeeze more fun out of my car. To date the car is bone stock, save for a harness bar, 4-point bolt-in harnesses, HT-10 pads, and a butt strut.

But I'm primarily concerned about safety if I jump into the "R-compound tires/TC Kline Trick suspension" realm, which is where I want to go. So that means 6-point harnesses, roll cage, gutted interior, etc. The problem with this is: I will be destroying the car I fell in love with.

So I'm thinking I can sell the coupe, and finding a well sorted-out E36 M3 with all the aftermarket goodies already loaded in, plus have a little play money left over. What say you guys, is this a good path? I love love love my coupe, which is why I don't want to turn it into a track junkie, but would it be faster than a similarly sorted out E36M3?

you can spend a lot of money and effort turning the mcoupe into a dedicated track car, and as you've already realized this will pretty much ruin it as a street car. also, consider that any mishaps can get fairly expensive especially if you damage the unibody.

also, a production-based track car will always be compromised by its nature, its weight, and will eat tires and brakes at the very least.

i'm designing the dp4 to be a trackday car that is very light and compact - only 650 lbs, 200hp with ability to up the power to 350hp (with awd option). you'll be able to tow it with the ZHP on a small utility trailer and tilt it up for storage in your garage so in most cases you can still put an mcoupe-sized car in there as well.

i know this may sound like spam but the dp4 really is the result of my own 10 years of trackday experience with all kinds of cars, starting with mcoupes and ranging from elises/exige to scion xb to the v10 m5.

dp4 kits and complete cars will be available late this year/early next year.

09-07-2009, 04:40 PM

jsirota

Re: turning the M coupe into a track car...need advice

It probably won't be faster than a similarly sorted M3, especially not one that's ALREADY sorted, but it's a track car, not a race car, so does it matter which one is faster? When you've got your Coupe sorted, it won't be slower than the M3 either. The biggest problem with building a Coupe is the lack of a well-known formula for the Z3 chassis compared to the E36. There are still lots of schools of thought with how to really make them fast.

But the important thing is that I don't think you'll be destroying the car you fell in love with. Mine (a Z3 Coupe I bought used) is a race-only car and I still feel the same way about it that I felt about the M Coupe I bought in 1998.

Really, my only regret about having a track-only Coupe is that when I see Coupe on my daily commute (no Coupe for the street), the Coupe driver doesn't see me as a member of "the club."--
<a href="http://www.godoggoracing.org/">Go Dog Go Racing</a>

09-10-2009, 02:07 AM

patavakian

Never build a race car... always buy one built...

Trust me, I just built one (estoril as well) and I wish I would have bought the Lyle car (even if it was a POS)...

If you must, start with a 2.8 Z coupe.

Patrick
Patrick
__________________________________________________ ____________________________
"Racing... because golf, football and baseball only require one ball." Anonymous

09-15-2009, 06:02 PM

Gregor54

Thoughts from the gone but not forgotten?

Dropping in from the underworld of life after coupedom.

A couple of thoughts.

1. Having seen a Coupe which went over the rail at Lime Rock at high speeds and which landed on its roof, the factory roll bar in the windshield held and the aftermarket four point roll bar seems to have kept pretty much everything else together. A Coupe with a four point bar is a pretty good place to be.

2. A six point harness and a quality helmet is your first line of defense. The car will hold together, but does not help if you get tossed around.

3. I never installed aftermarket seats, but per 2 above, race seats are your friends in a crash as they keep you securely in a safe place in the car.

4. On several occassions Hoosiers saved my bacon. When a Mustang with way too much boost popped a motor in West Bend, the Hoosiers let me tuck my line in, while Nixoda on sticky street tires took the long way around; fortunately hitting nothing. Dave did a nice job, he just did not have the option of tightening the line when push came to shove. I had to go to wheels that were a bit wider to fit Hoosiers in the stock size.

5. Never was happy with the OEM brake pads on my Coupe, and quality track day pads helped a lot.

6. Buddy of mine put his Ferrari into the tire wall at the Glen. Ouch. He speaks very highly of the job the Hans device did. The price is coming down, and it is a life saver.

7. A roll cage is a two edged sword as while it makes the car much stronger, it is also heavy and is one more thing that your body can hit inside the car. On a Rally car I would not consider running without a Roll cage as there are no guard rails and hitting trees and such is bad. But, on a track day car my priorities would be the quality of my harness, quality of the seats, quality of tires/brakes to avoid and accident, a Hans device and only then would I even think of a cage. I have never seen a Coupe that did not hold together in a crash. A great platform.

My Coupe is now running track days with its new owner in Michigan. Glad to hear they are enjoying the car and that it is running well. I continue to ride my BMW motorcycle and looking for the right Formula Ford for vintage events.

Best to all.

Gregor
Connecticut

09-15-2009, 07:27 PM

Josh S

Curious about your FF hunt

What atrributes make the "right Formula Ford?"

I'm a past owner of two FFs, but they were middle-aged ones, an '02 Van Diemen and an '85 Citation, too new for vintage or even Club Ford under most CF rulesets, but too old to be competitive against even a late '80s Swift.

Just curious what people are looking for these days. Seems like the Kent engine parts availability have made keeping one of these a lot more expensive than it used to be ...

09-16-2009, 06:33 PM

Gregor54

OT: Re: FF

In racing one must be fast. In Vintage one just has to look fast. There is a lot of variation in FF and some have that classic GP look while others were just foolish looking. The objective is to have fun, not to collect any more little trophies. So, it is subjective. Earlier is better, subject to that it has good steel in the tubes for safety.